California White Collar Crimes

There are many acts that have been defined as white collar criminal crimes in California. These have been defined in common law as the commission of a crime by an individual due to respectability and high social status because of his occupation. These are as follows:

• Worker’s Compensation Fraud is the act of directly participating or aiding and abetting, solicits others to conspire to collect worker’s compensation benefits through fraudulent means;
• Welfare fraud is the failure to report money or income received when receiving welfare. There are other acts which affect the status of coverage under welfare laws or misrepresentation resulting in fraud in the receipt of benefits;
• Forgery, alteration or falsification of a vehicle registration, license plate or sticker (California Vehicle Code Sec 4463) are acts where there is deliberate deception perpetrated upon vehicles and their registration in order to avoid payment or penalty. This also includes misuse of disability placards for your vehicle;
• Unemployment Insurance Fraud or the willful false representation, knowing concealment, or false identification to obtain, increase, reduce or defeat any benefit under the state or federal programs for unemployment insurance or collection of other types of compensation;
• Tax fraud is committed when an individual through willful false representation, concealment or under submission submits false facts to decrease or reduce the imposable tax payable for an individual;
• Financial Elder abuse and senior fraud is committed through the commission of physical or financial abuse resulting in pain and suffering on an individual aged sixty five years or older. This abuse is committed through theft or embezzlement of money or other properties owned by the senior citizen;
• Securities fraud is committed when an individual or individuals in collusion induce through deceptive means individual investors to make financial decisions on stocks based on false information resulting in loss and violation of securities laws;
• Receipt of stolen property is the purchase, sale, receipt, concealment and/or withholding of properties known to be accumulated through illegal means such as theft;
• Real estate fraud is the commission of deliberate deception to secure an unlawful or unfair financial gain in connection with a real estate transaction such as sale or mortgage;
• Prescription fraud or doctor shopping is the use of multiple providers to obtain multiple prescriptions for controlled substances over and above the prescribed limit;
• Medi-Cal fraud is committed by individuals who are covered under public health insurance who receive unauthorized payments or benefits over and above what is allotted to them under the program;
• Mail fraud is committed by an individual who attempts to unlawfully obtain money or valuables using the postal system as a means to commit such act;
• Internet fraud is the unlawful use of Internet services to fraudulently solicit goods and services to individuals or the use of the Internet to transmit proceeds of fraud or criminal act to others;
• Auto insurance fraud is committed when an individual submits false and/or fraudulent claims to a car insurance carrier for the purpose of obtaining benefits and funds;
• Identity theft is the fraudulent misuse of another’s personal identity and its attached resources, such as credit or other benefits, for their personal benefit or the commission of another crime;
• Health care fraud is committed by an individual through the submission of false, fraudulent or doctored claims in exchange for funds and other benefits from health care insurance providers;
• Forgery is committed when an individual knowingly alters, creates or uses a written document with the intention to commit fraud in order to obtain funds or other benefits;
• Credit card fraud is committed through the use of a credit card or any payment mechanism as a source of fraudulent funds to pay for goods and services;
• Extortion or blackmail is committed when an individual uses force or threats to compel another person to give you money, property or some other benefit, perform a service, or provide money, property or other benefit under official auspices;
• Embezzlement is committed through the fraudulent appropriation of property entrusted to their care and authority;
• Bribery is committed through efforts undertaken to influence through corrupt means, which is by way of money and/or gifts, a public official to influence the performance of their mandated duties.

The aforementioned crimes can be prosecuted either as a misdemeanor or felony criminal offense. The penalties imposable for these crimes are as follows:

• Restitution of the defrauded amounts;
• Imprisonment in a state prison facility;
• Payment of fines;
• Revocation or suspension of professional licenses;
• Ineligibility to receive or retain benefits;
• Publication of conviction in the state’s website;
• If the crime involves a vehicle, then penalties stipulated by the DMV are imposed;

The white collar crime is a serious matter in California. Should you be or know anyone facing any of these charges, do reach out to the lawyers at the Law Offices of Ramiro J. Lluis for a free consultation today.